writer-director Riley Stearns has crafted a beautifully distinctive comedic thriller; the movie is as hilarious as it is unpredictable. It emerges as a strong early contender for best film of the year
dark, sinister, and disarmingly hilarious; Jesse Eisenberg plays a wimp whose desperate bid to man up compels him to join an off-kilter karate studio in this smart, machismo-critiquing cult comedy
"The Art of Self-Defense" manages to clarify the filmmaker's intriguing vision by stuffing it into a remarkably unnerving character study that winds its way to one of the greatest punchlines in recent movie memory
by Bobby LePire [Film Threat ]
